It is neither a charity work nor that is based on ‘good hearted & feel good’ help.

There are three bits to it- the social structure of the south Indian society, the development work with reference to NGOs working in this area and the broader development work from a donor and conceptual perspective.

The Anakavur initiative firmly believes that no development work can be glued to one “dominant approach” or to ‘fund-dependent’ objectives or governed by another structure created outside for the sake of running a programme; after all, my aim is not to prove the worthiness of any particular approach/method, or work for the sake of attracting funds like charity or to suit any particular interest of a donor

It is spread across all the 58 villages of the Anakavur block.Anakavur block is made up of 58 villages. Anakavur block is in Tiruvannamalai (T.V. Malai for short) district which is one of the most backward districts of the State of Tamilnadu. Tamilnadu is one of the southern states of India.

It has a several hundred active members who also take part in this process belonging to various groups such as children’s groups, women’s groups, adolescent girl’s groups and youth groups that were formed by the volunteers.

Our work also gets support and involvement of nutrition workers and nutrition supervisors of the block, village health nurses, primary school teachers, village administrative officers, panchayat leaders, farmers, children and women – all taking part in various ways.

Many problems arise due to partial or total lack of modern scientific knowledge, traditional practices, beliefs, or taboos. Four key areas were identified by the volunteers as important areas, which needed immediate attention. They were: Health, Nutrition, Education and Environment (including Agriculture/Horticulture).

I will be glad to answer any queries you may haveVenkat (venkat@anakavur.com)http://www.anakavur.com